Deccan Traps
The Deccan Traps are a large igneous province located on the Deccan Plateau of west-central India (between 17°–24°N, 73°–74°E) and one of the largest volcanic features on Earth. They consist of multiple layers of solidified flood basalt that together are more than 2,000 m (6,562 ft) thick, cover an area of 500,000 km2 (193,051 sq mi) and have a volume of 512,000 km3 (123,000 cu mi).
Etymology
The term "trap" has been used in geology since 1785–95 for such rock formations. It is derived from the Scandinavian word for stairs ("trapp") and refers to the step-like hills forming the landscape of the region.
History
The Deccan Traps began forming 66.250 million years ago, at the end of the Cretaceous period. The bulk of the volcanic eruption occurred at the Western Ghats (near Mumbai) some 66 million years ago. This series of eruptions may have lasted less than 30,000 years in total.
The original area covered by the lava flows is estimated to have been as large as 1.5 million km², approximately half the size of modern India. The Deccan Traps region was reduced to its current size by erosion and plate tectonics; the present area of directly observable lava flows is around 512,000 km2 (197,684 sq mi).
